


Seeking Solace

by BrightEyesIllusionist



Series: 100 Themes Challenge [5]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: 100 Themes Challenge, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Gen, Jarvis (Iron Man movies) is a Good Bro, Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-06-13 10:38:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15362739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrightEyesIllusionist/pseuds/BrightEyesIllusionist
Summary: Obadiah REALLY should have checked the Tower before locking Tony in it. At the very least he should have made sure the previous owner hadn't been a wizard.





	Seeking Solace

Obadiah really should have checked the tower before he decided to lock Tony in it. 

He gets it, he really does. After his parents died, Obie was left to take care of the Kingdom and Tony with it. The Kingdom wasn't really doing well after the attack, and the war that it ignited. It took a lot of Obie's attention and planning and Tony just got in the way. He was a nuisance, bratty and much to young to help. It was easier to lock him away and forget about him. One less thing to worry about and take attention away from the important business of the war and weapons for the army.

Where better to keep a troublesome prince than a tower, right?

Unless that tower had been previously inhabited by a Wizard, that is.

It took Tony less than a day to find the 'secret' stash of grimoires, magic tomes, ingredient stores, and enchanted objects. It's like the old Wizard didn't even really try to hide them. The Cauldron of Plenty was useful though.

His name had been Strange, apparently. Tony still got a kick out of that.

The books were a convenient way to distract himself from his boredom. Some of them were easier to follow than others and it wasn't too long before Tony was casting simple spells and enchanting items.

His first enchanted helper was a broomstick. He knows it's cliche, but honestly the tower was getting dusty and Tony did NOT want to clean it himself. The thing did a pretty crappy job, but it did keep the worst of the dust off the floor at least, even if it kept screwing up Tony's experiments.

He named it Dum-E. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

A few years later, the tower was hardly recognizable. A fire demon had taken a liking to Tony and decided to reside in the tower's hearth, giving Tony some much needed companionship. Jarvis was also quite knowledgeable in the Arcane and Tony loved soaking up everything he was willing to teach. The demon had integrated himself so deeply into the tower by that point, that the very stone of it was soaked with his magic.

Dum-E, the idiot, had been joined by two new little helpers. A bucket that kept sloshing water across the floor that Tony called Butterfingers, and a lantern that wouldn't answer to anything other than U. They did their best, really, but they messed it up most of the time. Still, they were some of the first things Tony had attempted to enchant and he loved them.

He spent most of his time reading and working on different things. Some spells gave him more trouble than others, naturally, but he thought he'd finally gotten the hang of the potion he'd been working on when there was an incredibly loud knock on the door.

Tony frowned. He didn't get visitors, really. Obie only came to the tower when he needed something, and that only happened every few months at most, and he had the keys so there was no need to knock.

“Hey, Jarvis?” Tony called. “Do you know who is at the door?”

Jarvis' voice hummed from the stones around him. “I do not, sir.”

Tony's eyebrows rose. “You don't know?”

“It appears that, whoever they are, they carry an item with them that makes it difficult to discern anything about them.” Jarvis' tone was irritable. It wasn't often that Tony asked something he didn't have a specific answer to.

“I guess I should go check it out then.” Tony walked out of his laboratory and shut the hidden doorway behind him. He stepped up to the window placed conveniently above the front door and opened it to look down.

It was raining heavily outside, and there was a single man standing in front of the door, a large staff held in his hand. His clothing was soaked and darkened by the rain so Tony could hardly tell the color of it.

“Hello!” Tony called down. “Can I help you?”

The man looked up, squinting as water poured into his face. “Greetings! I'm afraid I was caught in this dreadful weather unprepared. My mount was startled by the thunder and has run off. I would chase after it, but what with the dark and the rain I'm afraid I would be unsuccessful. Might you have space where I could wait out the storm?”

Tony frowned and looked out at the sky. It really was awful out there, and he wouldn't want to leave someone out in the rain, especially not where there wasn't another shelter for miles. Technically the tower was locked, but Tony had figured out how to open it years ago. A gust of wind blew into his face and the cold water quickly chilled his skin. He wiped off his face quickly and made up his mind. It was utterly miserable out there and he wouldn't leave someone to it if he could help it.

“Of course!” He called down. “Allow me to just come down and unlock the door.”

“Bless you, sir!” The man called up as Tony fastened the window closed once more. He made his way down the tower's spiraling staircase and to the front door. 

It was a beautifully wrought entrance, the dark wood carved with grand designs and symbols, etched in silver. He threw his hands out and muttered an ancient spell to release the locks embedded in the design. The silver metal glowed slightly as the doors swung outward to admit Tony's guest.

He sighed and lowered his hands with a smile. “Welcome to my humble abode.”

The man walked through the entrance and grinned. “It is my pleasure.” Tony turned slightly to show the man to the small guest room, but out of the corner of his eye he saw his guest angle his staff to point at him. The tip of it started to glow with a sickly yellow light. 

Tony turned to face him and tried to reach for his own power, but the other man released his energy before he had gathered more than a weak shield.

The energy blast hit him square in the chest and Tony was thrown back. He landed against the stone steps with a crack, pain registering from both his front and his back. He leaned back with a groan, his vision already growing black at the edges. His breath was stuck in his lungs and they wouldn't respond to his desperate need for more air.

He saw the man start to walk towards him with a small smile on his face and a dagger in his hand.

“A parting gift, from his majesty.” The man said, leaning over him slightly. “Goodbye, dear prince.”

Tony's eyes widened as the knife was brought to hover directly over him. The blackness was encroaching further and there was nothing he could do to stop the man from plunging it directly into his sternum. 

The pain was agonizing and even with the little air left to him, he screamed.

The scream must have alerted his little helpers, or Jarvis had called them, because just as the man was moving to stand up, a little bucket hit him over the head with a resounding crack.

The man swayed for a moment before shaking his head a little and looking around. While his back was turned, Dum-E let loose another crack against his skull with his handle.

The bucket and broom took turns whacking the man over the head before he finally got his hands around Dum-E's handle. Tony watched, frozen, as the man brought the boom up and prepared to bring it down over his knee. Just as he started to bring his arms down, U tipped himself over his head from above, drenching the already soaked man with oil.

He dropped Dum-E to the floor in favor of reaching up to wipe the oil from his face. His eyes were blood-shot and full of anger as he reached for the staff he'd abandoned on the floor. 

From up the stairs, Tony heard a whooshing sound. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a wall of flame rushing down the stairs above him. It washed over his form with a tender warmth before it raced forward to engulf the man. 

His oil soaked hair and clothing lit immediately and he started screaming. He dropped his staff and ran for the door and the pouring rain outside. As soon as he crossed the threshold, the door slammed shut and glowed again to re-engage the locks.

Tony grinned and reached up to grab at the knife embedded in his chest. He was barely able to suck enough breath into his lungs to offer a small grin.

“Thanks... guys...” He panted. The pain was becoming unbearable now. Liquid fire was burning it's way through his veins and the blackness had almost engulfed his vision. In the final seconds before he closed his eyes, he saw a burning humanoid shape approaching him. The fire reached out to touch his hands and Tony felt a fresh wave of pain overcome him and he allowed himself to fall into blessed oblivion.

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tony was surprised when he actually woke up to familiar surroundings.

He was laying on the small cot he kept in his lab, but it had been pushed up right next to the main hearth where Jarvis resided. He looked around, confused.

“What happened?” He groaned and sat up.

“Please, Sir. Be careful.” Jarvis' voice came from the hearth, but it was much weaker than normal. “I can hardly hold back the curse as it is.”

“Curse? Jarvis, what happened? I thought I was.. didn't I?”

“You were dying, Sir.” The quiet response was disconcerting. “Your guest left quite the package for you I'm afraid. It is a combination of an ancient evil that was present in the blighted dagger and the direct curse that striked you before. I can only hold it back for so long.” The last admittance was quieter than the others.

“That's okay, J.” Tony responded equally softly. “Thanks for the save back there, I owe you one, okay? I can't go till I pay that back, alright?”

Jarvis laughed softly. “It will be a short time for the both of us. In order to delay the magic I tied my essence to your own. When the curse takes you, my own existence will cease as well.”

Tony shook his head. “Okay, yeah. Nope! Neither of us is dying. I just decided right now.” He levered himself painfully up from the cot. “Back to the lab! We're going to fix this Jarvis, okay? You just watch me!”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A few months later, another knock sounded at Tony's door. He looked down from the window again, much more cautiously this time, but with an extra confidence that came directly from the soft blue glow emitting from his chest though it was hidden under his clothing.

“Who goes there!” He called down.

A tall man with blond hair and a brightly painted shield with a star in the center looked back up at him.

“Are you the prince of the tower?!” He called back up.

“Depends on who is asking!”

The man gestured to the motley group surrounding him, “We're called the Avengers! I'm Steve. We heard you needed rescuing!”

Tony laughed. “No such thing, I'm quite happy up here!”

The man looked surprised. “Really?”

“Yes! No rescuing necessary!” 

“Oh, well alright then.” The man frowned slightly. “Is there anything else we can assist you with then?”

Tony grinned. “Well if you'd like to help me take back my kingdom and do some rescuing myself I wouldn't say no. I was about to head out anyway!”

“Sounds like an adventure,” Steve replied.

**Author's Note:**

> Day 5 of my 100 Themes Challenge. If you guys like this one, I have a few ideas to possibly continue it. :)


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